them up on the offer?’
Tullo sank the rest of his beer before speaking again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
‘Simple common sense, I expect. He came through here a month or so ago, headed south to Yew Grove with our legatus after they were both relieved of command, and he looked like a man with a calm head on his shoulders, a proper Roman general. Not like that fool Governor Marcellus, it was all his fault for sending us north in the first place. And now he’s been recalled to the hardships of his estate in Rome while the rest of us poor bastards pay the price for his stubbornness in blood and terror …’
‘Look out for some ligusticum, Lupus, that’s the herb we need to bring a bit of life back to lamb that’s been dead for longer than might be ideal. You know what to look for, those broad three bladed leaves?’
The child nodded at Felicia, answering without conscious thought, his eyes bright as he searched the ground before them for any sign of its presence.
‘Yes, Mother.’
The doctor stared fondly at the child for a moment before returning to her own search, shaking her head at the speed with which he had adopted her and Marcus as his de facto parents. Behind them a tent party of soldiers were searching the trees clustered around them with hard eyes, having been warned of the dire consequences that would befall them if they were to allow any mishap to befall the woman and child.
Lupus was the first to smell it, wrinkling his nose at the faint but still unmistakable aroma of burned wood, and as he turned to Felicia with a questioning look she nodded her head.
‘I smell it too.’ They advanced down the hill’s slope, finding a faint path through the wild vegetation, but before the child could investigate any further, the tent party’s leader, a tall soldier with a fresh pink scar across the bridge of his nose, put a hard-fingered hand on his shoulder.
‘Not quite so fast, young ’un.’ He turned to Felicia with an apologetic expression. ‘I’m sorry, Domina, but we’ll lead from here. There may be things down there best not seen by the likes of you and the boy.’
The doctor smiled up at him wryly.
‘We’ve both seen rather more “things” than you might think possible, soldier, but I appreciate your concern for our safety. After you, by all means.’
The soldier nodded his thanks to her and ordered his men to form a skirmish line, advancing down the slope to either side of the path with their spears held ready to fight. Behind them Lupus drew his short sword, drawing amused smiles from the soldiers closest to him which he ignored with a face set hard in concentration. A hundred paces further down the hill the canopy of trees opened to reveal the late evening’s pink glow, and the soldiers stopped their advance to stare down into the ruins of what had clearly been a prosperous village until quite recently. Thirty or so burned-out dwellings were arrayed before them, their remaining timbers black with soot, previously straight beams that had been gnawed by fire until they had been left twisted and notched. The inferno that had been visited upon the settlement had reduced it to a ghost town, with only the skeletal remains of its once comfortable existence to bear witness to what had been there before. The tall soldier grimaced at the village’s wreckage, shaking his head.
‘Offensive sweep. Everyone in the village either killed or enslaved, anything of value confiscated and the houses and crops put to the torch. We did a few of these, back when the rebellion was getting nasty, just to show them who was in control …’ His voice tailed off, and he looked about him hollow-eyed. ‘Just like my own village, I expect. You’ll find what you’re looking for easily enough, every house had its own little patch of herbs.’
He led his men forward, putting his spear over his shoulder and shrugging at Lupus who was still holding his sword out in front of him.
‘Nice strong
Tullo sank the rest of his beer before speaking again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
‘Simple common sense, I expect. He came through here a month or so ago, headed south to Yew Grove with our legatus after they were both relieved of command, and he looked like a man with a calm head on his shoulders, a proper Roman general. Not like that fool Governor Marcellus, it was all his fault for sending us north in the first place. And now he’s been recalled to the hardships of his estate in Rome while the rest of us poor bastards pay the price for his stubbornness in blood and terror …’
‘Look out for some ligusticum, Lupus, that’s the herb we need to bring a bit of life back to lamb that’s been dead for longer than might be ideal. You know what to look for, those broad three bladed leaves?’
The child nodded at Felicia, answering without conscious thought, his eyes bright as he searched the ground before them for any sign of its presence.
‘Yes, Mother.’
The doctor stared fondly at the child for a moment before returning to her own search, shaking her head at the speed with which he had adopted her and Marcus as his de facto parents. Behind them a tent party of soldiers were searching the trees clustered around them with hard eyes, having been warned of the dire consequences that would befall them if they were to allow any mishap to befall the woman and child.
Lupus was the first to smell it, wrinkling his nose at the faint but still unmistakable aroma of burned wood, and as he turned to Felicia with a questioning look she nodded her head.
‘I smell it too.’ They advanced down the hill’s slope, finding a faint path through the wild vegetation, but before the child could investigate any further, the tent party’s leader, a tall soldier with a fresh pink scar across the bridge of his nose, put a hard-fingered hand on his shoulder.
‘Not quite so fast, young ’un.’ He turned to Felicia with an apologetic expression. ‘I’m sorry, Domina, but we’ll lead from here. There may be things down there best not seen by the likes of you and the boy.’
The doctor smiled up at him wryly.
‘We’ve both seen rather more “things” than you might think possible, soldier, but I appreciate your concern for our safety. After you, by all means.’
The soldier nodded his thanks to her and ordered his men to form a skirmish line, advancing down the slope to either side of the path with their spears held ready to fight. Behind them Lupus drew his short sword, drawing amused smiles from the soldiers closest to him which he ignored with a face set hard in concentration. A hundred paces further down the hill the canopy of trees opened to reveal the late evening’s pink glow, and the soldiers stopped their advance to stare down into the ruins of what had clearly been a prosperous village until quite recently. Thirty or so burned-out dwellings were arrayed before them, their remaining timbers black with soot, previously straight beams that had been gnawed by fire until they had been left twisted and notched. The inferno that had been visited upon the settlement had reduced it to a ghost town, with only the skeletal remains of its once comfortable existence to bear witness to what had been there before. The tall soldier grimaced at the village’s wreckage, shaking his head.
‘Offensive sweep. Everyone in the village either killed or enslaved, anything of value confiscated and the houses and crops put to the torch. We did a few of these, back when the rebellion was getting nasty, just to show them who was in control …’ His voice tailed off, and he looked about him hollow-eyed. ‘Just like my own village, I expect. You’ll find what you’re looking for easily enough, every house had its own little patch of herbs.’
He led his men forward, putting his spear over his shoulder and shrugging at Lupus who was still holding his sword out in front of him.
‘Nice strong
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